RON DAVIS -- Through My Eyes

Several years ago I watched the leader of our nation look squarely and

sincerely into a television camera and firmly state, “I did not have sex

with that woman, Ms. Lewinsky.”

At the time, those who supported the president suggested the allegations

surrounding him -- that he lied under oath about his relationship with

Monica Lewinsky -- were the product of a vast right-wing conspiracy,

undoubtedly motivated by a tight little band of Clinton-haters who might

be described as “a vociferous, at times violent, always sarcastic and

mean-spirited minority.”

Those who wore the rose-colored glasses supporting Clinton argued the

allegations couldn’t be true because the president had done so many

wonderful things.

Eventually, we learned that despite a great economy and whatever other

accomplishments the Clinton supporters pointed to, and despite an

apparently sincere television denial, and despite questions regarding the

motivation of those who persisted with the allegations, that indeed the

allegations were true -- the president of the United States lied under

oath during a court proceeding and lied to the American people on camera.

I have watched Huntington Beach Mayor Dave Garofalo, while not the leader

of the nation, the designated leader of our community. I’ve watched him

sincerely look into the television cameras at City Council meetings and

deny any wrongdoing.

I have read -- in this newspaper, other newspapers and in Mayor Dave

Garofalo’s column, as well as his oral statements -- a generalized denial

of wrongdoing and a reference to documentation that is filed with the

“appropriate agency.” There have been general denials of wrongdoing

coupled with an attack on the motives of those who have raised questions

about his conduct as “a vociferous, at times violent, always sarcastic

and mean-spirited minority.”

I have read his defense and the defense of those who support him, which

is predicated on Dave’s accomplishments, including his time with the Boy

Scouts, the American Heart Assn., the DARE program, Leukemia Foundation,

American Cancer Society, St. Bonaventure School, Huntington Beach Boys &

Girls Club, and countless other charities.

Contributions to charities and positive involvement in civic affairs does

not bear on the subject of innocence or guilt. In my mind, such an

argument is an implied admission of wrongdoing and a plea for

forgiveness.

The plain fact is that good guys can make mistakes.

Even assuming that those who continue to press the allegations are, in

fact, “a vociferous, at times violent, always sarcastic mean-spirited

minority,” does that mean that their claims are wrong? Or should we

merely judge their claims and arguments in light of their bias, as we

should the “facts” and contentions offered by those historical supporters

of the mayor?

I am sensitive to smear campaigns and therefore am not inclined to buy

into the allegations of those who simply dislike the mayor personally or

his politics.

I believe I understand such motives and therefore view their facts with

distrust. But those who have consistently supported and contributed to

the mayor are also biased, and I view their contentions with the same

distrust.

Distrust doesn’t mean dismissal. While it means the evidence on both

sides should be distrusted, it still should be investigated fairly and

completely.

I had hoped that when I called Commercial Investment Management Group

officials they would have told me that they’d approached the mayor for

the advertisement in question rather than the reverse. I had hoped that

it was CIM that put the mayor between a rock and a hard place. I didn’t

want my suspicions to be true.

But not wanting them to be true doesn’t support my not asking the

question or not reporting the answer.

It’s time to put into perspective the mayor’s counter accusations against

those who question his conduct. Time to stop the

I-couldn’t-have-done-it-because-I’m-a-great-guy defense. Time to stop the

vague reference to appropriate agencies and produce the exonerating

documents that he claims exist at those agencies.

While my television set is relatively new, the drama and the defense I

saw unfolding with President Clinton and what I see now unfolding with

Mayor Garofalo is not a pretty picture. A picture only Dave Garofalo can

bring into proper focus.

* RON DAVIS is a private attorney who lives in Huntington Beach. He can

be reached by e-mail at o7 [email protected]